This document discusses how Solaris manages CD-ROM and diskette devices. It describes how Volume Management automatically mounts and tracks these removable media. Volume Management uses the /etc/vold.conf file to determine which devices to manage. Administrators can update this file to add new CD-ROM or diskette drives. Mounted removable media is accessible in directories like /cdrom and /floppy.

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Diskette Devices
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How Solaris Manages CD-ROM and Diskette Devices
This section describes how CD-ROM and diskette devices are managed by the Solaris operating environment.
Volume Management
Volume Management is a program in the operating system that automates the administration of your CD-ROMs and diskettes. For example, in
previous Solaris releases (Solaris 2.1 or earlier), to mount and access data on a CD-ROM you had to perform many administrative steps (refer
to ""Comparing Automatic and Manual Mounting"""Comparing Automatic and Manual Mounting").
In the Solaris operating environment, Volume Management automatically mounts CD-ROMs and diskettes with file systems at
/cdrom/ cdrom_name and /floppy/ floppy_name respectively. It also keeps track of CD-ROM and diskette file systems during a
workstation session (rebooting will clear the in-memory database). To view the media that has been inserted during a workstation session, list
/vol/dsk:
% ls /vol/dsk
supp_sol_2_7_smcc
unnamed_cdrom unnamed_floppy
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2. Volume Management uses the configuration file /etc/vold.conf to determine which devices it manages. The default /etc/vold.conf
file contains the following information:
# @(#)vold.conf 1.13 92/10/28 SMI
##
Volume Daemon Configuration file
#
# Database to use (must be first)
db db_mem.so
# Labels supported
label dos label_dos.so floppy
label cdrom label_cdrom.so cdrom
label sun label_sun.so floppy
# Devices to use
use cdrom drive /dev/dsk/c0t6 dev_cdrom.so cdrom0
use floppy drive /dev/fd0 dev_floppy.so floppy0
# Actions
insert /vol*/dev/fd[0-9]/* user=root /usr/sbin/rmm
insert /vol*/dev/dsk/* user=root /usr/sbin/rmm
eject /vol*/dev/fd[0-9]/* user=root /usr/sbin/rmm
eject /vol*/dev/dsk/* user=root /usr/sbin/rmm
notify /vol*/rdsk/* group=tty /usr/lib/vold/volmissing -c
# List of file system types unsafe to eject
unsafe ufs hsfs pcfs
Before you add secondary CD-ROM and diskette drives to a system, update the /etc/vold.conf file by adding the new devices to the
"Devices to use" list. The syntax for a "Devices to use" entry is:
use device type special shared_object symname options
Each variable item in the device control line is defined in Table 4-3.
Table 4-3 Device Control Syntax Descriptions
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3. Syntax Description Supported and Default Values
device The type of removable media device to be used cdrom , diskette
type The class of device: multiple or single media support drive
special Path name of the device to be used. Path usually begins with /dev Default support is for the devices
/dev/dsk/c0t6 and /dev/diskette
shared_object The location of the code that manages this device The default location is
/usr/lib/vold/ name_
of_shared_object
symname The symbolic name that refers to this device; the symname is placed in
the device directory, either /cdrom or /floppy
Default values are
cdrom0 , floppy0
options The user, group, and mode permissions for the media inserted Default values are user=nobody ,
group=nobody , mode=0666
After updating the /etc/vold.conf file, attach the drive and reboot your system with a reconfiguration boot.
1. Note -
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4. For information on booting your system in different modes, see "To Boot After Connecting a Peripheral Device"."
Note -
Volume Management controls the /dev/dsk/c0t6d0s0 path to a CD-ROM drive and the /dev/diskette path to a diskette drive. An
attempt to access a CD-ROM or diskette using these paths will result in an error message.
Note -
For more information about Volume Management, see man Pages(4): File Formats and the System Administration Guide.
Comparing Automatic and Manual Mounting
Figure 4-1 compares the steps for manual mounting (without Volume Management) and automatic mounting (with Volume Management).
Volume Management performs many of the tasks previously required to manually mount and work with CDs and diskettes.
Figure 4-1 Comparison of Manual and Automatic Mounting
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5. Reference Material for CD-ROM and Diskette Devices
CD-ROM and diskette file systems are mounted in default locations by Volume Management when the media is inserted. See Table 4-4 for
more information. These mount points are only created and mounted if a file system is already resident on the diskette.
Table 4-4 CD-ROM and Diskette File System Mount Points
Media type Mount location State of media
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6. Diskette /floppy/floppy0 Symbolic link to mounted diskette in local diskette drive
/floppy/ floppy_name Mounted named diskette
/floppy/unnamed_floppy Mounted unnamed diskette
CD-ROM /cdrom/cdrom0 Symbolic link to mounted CD-ROM in local CD-ROM drive
/cdrom/ CD-ROM_name Mounted named CD-ROM
/cdrom/ CD-ROM_name/partition Mounted named CD-ROM with partitioned file system
/cdrom/unnamed_cdrom Mounted unnamed CD-ROM
To inform Volume Management that a diskette with a file system has been inserted into the drive, use volcheck (1). You do not need to use
this command if you are going to use fdformat (1) or eject (1).
Note -
For more information about these commands, see man Pages(1): User Commands and the System Administration Guide.
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7. If no file system exists on the media, Volume Management provides block and character devices in the /vol file system. See Table 4-5 for the
location of diskette and CD-ROM media in the /vol file system.
Note -
All releases provide a symbolic link in /vol/dev/aliases .
Table 4-5 CD-ROM and Diskette Device Locations in /vol With No File System Present
Media Type Device Location: State of Media
Diskette /vol/dev/diskette0/unnamed_floppy Formatted unnamed diskette--block device access
/vol/dev/rdiskette0/unnamed_floppy Formatted unnamed diskette--raw device access
/vol/dev/diskette0/unlabeled Unlabeled diskette--block device access
/vol/dev/rdiskette0/unl abeled Unlabeled diskette--raw device access
CD-ROM /vol/dev/dsk/c0t6/unnamed_cdrom CD-ROM--block device access
/vol/dev/rdsk/c0t6/unnamed_cdrom CD-ROM--raw device access
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8. Using CDs and Diskettes
Table 4-6 shows the various tasks you can perform using CDs and diskettes. See the System Administration Guide, for details.
Table 4-6 What You Can Do With CDs and Diskettes
Media Type Task Available with File Manager? Available through Command Line?
CD Load a CD Yes Yes
Examine the contents of a CD Yes Yes
Copy information from a CD Yes Yes
Find out if a CD is still in use No Yes
Eject a CD Yes Yes
Access CDs on other systems No Yes
Make local CDs available to other systems No Yes
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9. Configure a system to play musical CDs No Yes
Stop Volume Management No Yes
Restart Volume Management No Yes
Diskette Format a UFS diskette No Yes
Place a UFS file system on a diskette No Yes
Format a DOS diskette No Yes
Load a diskette Yes Yes
Examine the contents of a diskette Yes Yes
Copy or move information from a diskette Yes Yes
Copy or move information to a diskette Yes Yes
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10. Find out if a diskette is still in use No Yes
Eject a diskette Yes Yes
Access diskettes on other systems No Yes
Make local diskettes available to other systems No Yes
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